2018
Events January * – The in a fake staged by the police officer Rao Anwar in , sparked countrywide protests against s. The (Pashtun Protection Movement), led by , launched a campaign to seek justice for Mehsud. * – , led by President , announces the beginning of a to capture a portion of from , amidst the ongoing . * – – The enters a as a result of a dispute over . * – Scientists in China report in the journal the creation of the first using , named . * – A takes place. The Moon appears as , with perigee being on January 30. It is also the first blue moon eclipse since . It was also referred to as the super . February * – successfully conducts its maiden flight of its most powerful rocket to date, the , from at in . * – – The are held in , . * – becomes the first female in the on her installation in the , Western Australia. * – crashes shortly after take-off from , killing all 71 people on board. * ** resigns as after nine years in power. ** occurs at in , United States, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. * – crashes in the , en route from to . All 65 passengers and crew members perish. March * – Former Russian double agent and his daughter, Yulia, are by the in , . UK police investigate amid speculation the was behind the incident. * – : An transport aircraft operated by the crashes on approach to in Syria, killing all 39 people on board. All of them were servicemen of the , including Major-General Vladimir Yeremeyev. * – – The are held in , . * – accepts an invitation from for in May to discuss the denuclearisation of North Korea. * – China's government approves a constitutional change that removes term limits for its leaders, granting the status of " ". Xi is also the ( ). * – crashes and bursts into flames at , , killing 51 of the 71 people aboard. The 20 surviving passengers were seriously injured from the impact and the fire. * – In response to gun violence in the United States, and particularly triggered by the in Parkland, Florida, thousands of high school students across the country participate in an organized protest they called the National School Walkout. * – In the , is elected for a fourth term. * – The world's last male dies in Kenya, making the subspecies . * – , , kills five people, including the perpetrator. * – In over 900 cities internationally, people participate in against and s, calling for stronger gun control in the " ". * ** launches direct non-stop flights between and , making it the first commercially non-stop service between and the . ** At least 64 people die in in the Russian city of . * – More than 100 Russian diplomats are expelled by more than 20 countries in the wake of the . * ** North Korean , leaving the country for the first time since assuming office in 2011. ** At least in the police headquarters of . April * – – The are held in , Australia. * – Former ian is given an arrest warrant after a vote by the Supreme Court voted 6–5 in favor of denying his , due to corruption and other scandals. * – carrying the junior team in , , killing 16 and injuring 13 people. * – : At least 70 people are reported to have died and hundreds suffering injuries after a in , the last rebel-held town in Syria's . * – 257 people are killed after an Ilyushin Il-76 belonging to the Algerian Air Force . * – Syrian Civil War: The , the and order of Syrian military bases in response to the sarin attack allegedly by the regime on civilians in Ghouta. * ** In , begin against announced reforms of Social Security which would decrease retirement pension benefits. An estimated number of 34 protesters are killed by police. ** Cinemas open in for the first time since 1983 with the American film chosen as the first to be screened. ** NASA's (TESS) is launched. * ** is sworn in as President of Cuba, marking the first time since 1959 that Cuba has had a president other than or . ** Swaziland changes its English name, officially becoming the . * – kills 10 people and injures 16 others in , Canada. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested. * – crosses into to meet with President , becoming the first n leader to cross the since its creation in 1953. * – i accuses of not holding up its end of the after presenting a detailing the extent of Iran's nuclear program. Iran denounces Netanyahu's presentation as "propaganda". May * ** The separatist group officially announces its final dissolution after 40 years of conflict and more than 800 deaths in . ** The causes destruction of structures and forces thousands of residents of to evacuate as lava floods the land. * – 's unmanned spaceprobe is launched. It is expected to land on in November and use a drill to conduct . * – U.S. President announces his intention to the United States from the . In a statement, former U.S. President calls the move "a serious mistake". * – – The is held in , Portugal, and is won by entrant with the song " ". * – The opposition-led coalition, led by former , secures a in the , ending the 61-year rule of the coalition since in 1957. * – The , , pardons Malaysian opposition leader who is immediately released. * – crashes shortly after take-off near in , Cuba, killing 112 people and leaving only one survivor. * – The of and is held at , , with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion. * – The was held with incumbent President reelected with 67.8% of the vote and the lowest turnout in Venezuela's modern democratic history since the . The elections were denounced as a "sham" by several Latin American countries, the , , the and the . * – Foreign journalists report that tunnels in the have been destroyed by the North Korean government in a move to reduce regional tensions. * ** The 's (GDPR) goes into effect, imposing strict privacy controls for European citizens worldwide. ** A constitutional referendum on whether to repeal takes place, with a landslide win of 66.4% to 33.6% for the repeal side. * – The U.S. announces that it will extend its tariffs on imported steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) to include the EU, Mexico and Canada, starting at midnight. June * – At least 109 people are killed and hundreds wounded by the of , Guatemala's deadliest volcano for over a century. * – – The is held in . President Trump pushes for the reinstatement of the (to include ). He also proposes the elimination of s. * ** The is held in . It is the first summit between a United States President and the North Korean leader. ** and the reach a deal to end a between both countries, which would result in Macedonia being officially renamed the Republic of North Macedonia. * – awards hosting rights for the to a joint bid from , and the . * – – The is held in and is won by . * – Seventeen people die in following the after a tear gas canister is detonated in a crowded club. * ** The United States announces it will withdraw from the . ** Canada becomes the first major industrialised country to for recreational use. The Bill which legalises cannabis took effect on . * – – The are held in , . * – Saudi Arabia . July * ** becomes the 36th member of the . ** The takes place, killing 33 people in the of . * ** Former leader and six other main members of Aum Shinrikyo, who led the , are executed by hanging. ** U.S. tariffs on 34 billion of Chinese goods come into effect, as President Trump suggests the final total could reach $550bn. China accuses the U.S. of starting the "largest trade war in economic history" and announces immediate retaliatory tariffs. * – and officially declare an end to their . * – Twelve boys and their football coach are successfully rescued from the flooded cave in , following a that gained worldwide attention. * – – The is held in . * – The is signed, the world's largest bilateral free trade deal, creating an open trade zone covering nearly one-third of global GDP. * – Scientists report the presence of a , below the southern polar ice cap and extending sideways about , the first known body of water on the planet. * ** Heavy leave 102 dead and more than a hundred buildings destroyed. ** The share price of drops by almost 20 percent after the company warns investors that user growth has slowed following the data leak scandal. Over $109 billion is wiped from its market value, the largest single day loss in corporate history. * – The longest of the occurs, and makes its closest approach to since . August * – The begins in the . It becomes the second-deadliest outbreak of the on November 29, surpassed only by the 2013 . * – becomes the world's first public company to achieve a market capitalization of $1 trillion. * – The United States reimposes . * – – Heavy rainfall causes in the n state of . It is the worst flood to hit the state in a century. * ** The five littoral states – , , , and – sign the , ending the 20-year long dispute over the 's legal status. ** launches the unmanned to study the at close range and the . * – Part of the collapses after a violent storm in , , causing 43 fatalities. Deputy Prime Minister and transport minister blame private company Autostrade per l'Italia. * – – The are held in and , . * – 15 years old Swedish schoolgirl starts to in an attempt to give attention to the . * – withdraws from . * – succeeds as following a . Morrison is sworn in as Prime Minister later that evening. September * – breaks out in the in , destroying more than 90 percent of its archive of 20 million items. * – The decriminalises homosexuality. * – The on , killing at least 228 passengers. * – kills 30 people (including 5 attackers) and injures 70 more in , Iran. * – hits , , causing a that kills at least 4,340 people and injures more than 10,679 others. October * – journalist is inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, triggering a diplomatic crisis for Saudi Arabia. * – The confirms 's nomination to the by a margin of 50-48, making it the closest successful confirmation vote of a Supreme Court nominee since 1881. * – The releases its , warning that "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" are needed to ensure that is kept below 1.5 °C. * – makes landfall at as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum pressure of . It is the most intense hurricane to hit the mainland United States since in 1969. * – Canada legalises the sale and use of , becoming the second country in the world to do so, after Uruguay in 2013. * – in , , kills 20 people and injures 70 others. * ** At least 59 people are killed and at least 100 injured when a at a Hindu festival in Punjab, India. ** The unmanned European-Japanese spacecraft is launched on a seven-year journey to . * ** 700,000 people through demanding a second referendum on the final deal. The event is the second most attended protest of the 21st century in the United Kingdom after the . ** President Trump announces that the US will "terminate" the over alleged Russian violations. * – The , the world's longest sea crossing bridge, is opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping. * ** is officially declared President of Ireland after receiving 822,566 first preference votes. ** 11 people are killed during the at the in , United States. * – The is elected as the next , with 55% of the vote. * – crashes off the coast of , killing all 189 people on board. * – 's mission ends after the spacecraft runs out of fuel. November * – NASA's mission concludes after it runs out of hydrazine fuel. * – holds an , with 56.4% voting against independence versus 43.6% in favour. * – The ignites in . It becomes California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire, with 88 deaths and 18,804 buildings destroyed. * – Many nations around the world, particularly ones in Europe and the Commonwealth, along with the United States, commemorate the ending of the with , , and ceremonies, speeches, parades, and memorials. * – NASA's probe successfully lands on the surface of . * – : Ukraine declares after in which the Russian (FSB) fired upon and captured three vessels attempting to pass from the into the through the . * – Chinese scientist , at a public conference in , announces that he has of twin human girls born earlier in the month to try to make them resistant to infection with the virus; he also reveals the possible second pregnancy of another gene-modified baby. December * – – experiences its worst since the due to the . Protests in morph into riots, with hundreds of people injured and thousands arrested; over 100 cars are burned, the is vandalized and numerous other tourist sites are closed, both in the capital and elsewhere in the country. * – NASA reports the arrival of the probe at , the agency's first sample-return mission to an asteroid. * – The U.N.'s reports that, by the end of 2018, more than half – a full 51.2 percent – of the world's population are now using the . * – At the , nearly 200 nations agree rules on implementing the . * – Scandinavian tourists are murdered by Islamic terrorists in the foothills of near to the village of in . At least one victim is beheaded with the murders recorded on video and posted on social media. In a previous video the perpetrators pledge allegiance to . * – The closes at 22,445 after its worst week since 2008. * ** A hits the , , killing at least 430 people and injuring nearly 1,500. ** The United States government enters a , arising over a dispute over funding for the . The shutdown, which lasted until January 25, 2019, is the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. * – moves its capital from to . * – After weeks of losses the posts its largest ever one-day point gain: 1,086 points. * – : An apartment block in , , Russia, partially collapses, killing 39 people and injuring 17 more. According to the official investigation the collapse was caused by a gas explosion. Category:Recent history